Naples: Community Civic Space, the project aimed at young people begins to teach the values ​​of sport and strengthen active citizenship.

The Albricci stadium in via Generale Pignatelli in Naples and the Sports Center in via Matilde Serao in Cercola become a Civic Community Space with free activities aimed at to young people aged 14 to 34 to enhance their resources and strengthen in them the values ​​of sport, loyalty and mutual respect. The “Ubuntu” project, of which the Municipality of Naples is an institutional partner, is carried out by some local associations which were awarded the funding granted by Sport e Salute SpA thanks to the tender promoted by the Minister for Sport and Youth through the Department for youth policies and universal civil service. The initiative was presented this morning in the Antesala dei Baroni del Maschio Angioino.

Young people who register will be offered sporting activities such as cycling and duathlon and extra sporting activities such as nutritional coaching, active citizenship courses, communication and artistic-cultural workshops. Social integration and inclusion are a substantial part of the project with the involvement of disability support operators with the aim of accompanying young people to become protagonists in the management of the Civic Space themselves.

"The project "Ubuntu" – stated the Sports Councilor of the Municipality of Naples, Emanuela Ferrante – fully realizes the educational and social value that this Administration recognizes in sport as a factor in promoting the culture of inclusion and correct lifestyles. The initiative puts the young people of our area at the centre, dedicating them a civic space where they will be able, through sport, to experiment with themselves and their talents and live new experiences of active citizenship."

For the councilor for youth policies Chiara Marciani «putting civic spaces back at the center as places of aggregation, combining them with inclusion and social cohesion represents a challenge that integrates perfectly with the strategy of policies in favor of young people that we have been carrying out since installation of this Administration, which enhances their resources and supports them in their growth path."

For the president of Sport and Health Marco Mezzaroma «the Community Civic Spaces project has the objective not only of creating aggregation hubs for young people with a program of sporting, educational and social activities, but also of building new opportunities and experiences of active citizenship through sport, giving life to initiatives of creative and artistic expression that are representative of the youth cultures of the territories".

«Combining sport and social activities is part of the DNA of our association, being able to do it in a structured and organic way thanks to Sport e Salute SpA makes us proud but also aware of the responsibilities we have – underlined Mario Fontana, sports director of Asd Emmevi, project leader –. Sport is an excellent means of inclusion and active citizenship. The name of our project “Ubuntu”, an expression borrowed from the Bantu language which indicates benevolence towards others, underlines the value of the community and the importance of the rights but also of the duties that we all have».

The President of the fourth Municipality, Maria Caniglia, was present.